Georgia Cattle Farmers Thin Herds

Georgia’s continuing drought is making it tough for farmers trying to plant and water their crops. The state’s beef producers are struggling as well.

At this time of the year cattle typically eat grass growing naturally in the fields. But right now there isn’t any.

That means farmers are being forced to feed them hay, which costs money. President of the Georgia Farm Bureau Zippy Duvall has a cattle farm in Greensboro. He says many producers are thinning their herds.

“We’re already feeding hay in May and as long as I’ve been alive other than milking cows, you always fed hay to, but other cattle would be able to make it on forages that were growing and I don’t have any so we’re feeding hay at this point in time.”

Beef is the state’s sixth largest agricultural commodity with sales of around 350-million dollars a year.